Sports are more than competitions. To me, they mean growth under the care of others. I learned this the hard way.

I used to be very shy and often felt lonely. I was afraid of physical education. My classmates often laughed at me. “Look at that girl,” they said. “Her feet don’t leave the ground when she runs!” Their words embarrassed me. Moreover, whenever there were some competitive games, no one in the class liked to have me as their team member. As a result, I often ended up looking at others enjoy their games.

Things would go on like that but for a sports meet. By mistake, my name was put on the list of the women’s 1,500 meters race. By the time people found the mistake, it was too late. My deskmate was a natural athlete. She said to me, “I couldn’t run that race in your place, because I’ve signed up for three events already.” Other girls of the class said the same.

I was dumbfounded (目瞪口呆). 1,500 meters! Running against the best runners from other classes! And in front of students of the entire school! It would be the worst nightmare (恶梦) I’d ever have!

“You still have time to catch up because there is still one month before the sports meet,” they said.

My deskmate patted me on the shoulder, “Cool! You will run for our class! And we will train together.” Yes, this is not just for myself, but for my class too, I said to myself. But still, 1,500 meters to me was like Mount Everest to a beginning climber. Every afternoon after class, my deskmate ran beside me.

One month certainly couldn’t make me a good runner. But when I was standing behind the start line, I no longer felt lonely or afraid. I saw my classmates standing by the tracks waving at me as if to run beside me.

With the shot of the starting gun, I dashed out and ran as fast as I could.

As expected, I was almost the last to cross the finish line.

It was spring. The flowers were blooming, the sun was shining and the birds were singing their beautiful songs. There was a basketball championship going on in a basketball stadium, located in the beautiful city of San Francisco.

Jesse like his elder brother Timmy was one of the best in the competition; he scored most of his team’s points, but his team did not like that. Jesse never passed the ball. His coach always told him that it was a team game and not a one-man show.

“Jesse, pass the ball more,” insisted Coach Tyler. “Coach, I am good; I can win this whole tournament by myself if I want to,” responded Jesse. “Jesse, you need to learn to respect the game!” said Coach Tyler. “I don’t need to respect anything,” said Jesse. “Okay then, and I don’t need you in my team, Jesse. Get out of here!” said Coach Tyler. “Fine!” replied Jesse angrily.

At school Jesse’s friends Zack, Christopher, and Aaron were trying to calm down Jesse, who was still angry about what happened the previous day. Jesse was usually good in school, but after he was kicked out of the team, his attitude changed. He started doing poorly; he got in trouble and failed classes. Jesse tried to join other basketball teams, but he could not because their lists were filled or he was too young or too old. Finally, Jesse was recommended a team by Zack.

Five months later...

Jesse started passing the ball more, and he still averaged 26.4 points per game. Jesse enjoyed how he played, but he did not like that he was on the bench (替补). Jesse proved that he was a star on the court, but still the coach said that he was better on the bench. “Coach, I think I have showed that I can start next game,” said Jesse calmly. “No, Jesse, you are not good enough,” responded the coach. “But...” said Jesse before the coach interrupted him. “No, Jesse!” Jesse started getting mad. “Coach, you need to start me. I’m the best in this team,” said Jesse arrogantly.(傲慢地) “Jesse, how about you just leaving?” shouted the coach.

Jesse left. He became quite mad while going home.

Jesse went back to the stadium.

“Mike, I could walk faster than those women run.” I made my usual comment (评论) after watching my son Mike run in a race. He laughed as he knew I wasn’t a runner. “Listen, Mom, how about running with me next year in this race?” Without thinking, I agreed to this challenge. I felt it’s a piece of cake!

Never did I imagine what the next year would bring. When it was almost time for this race to happen, Mike died in a car accident. A few of his friends knew this “challenge” I had agreed to with Mike. They started to encourage me to run the race. Honestly speaking, I had almost forgotten what I said.

Thinking deeply, I decided I should keep my promise to Mike. The first thing I did was buy some running clothes. I might look good, even though I hadn’t trained.

The day of the race came. I felt pretty sad, but I started off. It wasn’t long before a man started to run next to me. The man was very talkative. He kept saying how tired he was. The chatter went on and on. The race was over, and this man’s wife won! I was just happy to finish and keep my promise to Mike.

I came home, and my neighbor asked about the race. I told him what had happened. My neighbor laughed, “Kay, don’t you know what this guy was doing? He thought you were the competition by the way you were dressed. He wanted his wife to win.” “Oh really!?”

The following year I did train. I even bought some tapes called “Win At Sports” and listened to them daily. If this man thought I was the competition, you could bet I was going to be the competition. His attitude in that race built a fire in me! The race was on!

The race began and I was all dressed and ready.

I stayed behind this man’s wife almost the whole race.